Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Mat 24:8 All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.

Alternative: Because people rise up against people and kingdoms against kingdoms and there will be famines, and diseases, and earthquakes in different areas. All of these are the original birth pains.

Remember, the topic under discussion is the purpose of the world. Why are there wars, that is, social disasters? Why are their famines, disease and other natural disasters? What is God's purpose here.

The answer is in the following verse, but it is obscured by translation.

"Beginning" is from archê, which means "begining," "orgin," "first principles," "first place of power," "empire," and "command. This is the word from which we get both "archbishop," primal bishops who can consecrate other bishops, and "archeology," the study of ancient history.

"Sorrows" is from ôdin, which means specifically the "pain of childbirth." It is a metaphor for anguish but with the specific sense of suffering that bears fruit. This is very different from the sorrow we feel at death, which is what the term "sorrows" in the context of war and natural disaster seems to indicate.

Again, what era has been free from wars and natural disasters? None. In the modern era, we are shocked that with all our knowledge we cannot stop these tragedies. While we can pretend Christ is describing these as signs of the end of the earth, I think he is saying something much more intelligent about the nature of suffering: that broad suffering causes pain, but it is that pain that will give birth to the next stage of our lives. It is not senseless suffering but literally "birth-pain."

I must admit, however, that I seem to be somewhat out of step with "the problem of evil" that seems to trouble most people when dealing with God. When people ask the question, "If God is good, why does he allow suffering?" I think the answer is obvious. There are only two kinds of suffering: the suffering we cause ourselves and each other by making stupid decisions and the suffering that arises from the afflictions of nature. And I can not imagine how you could create a meaningful world, that is, a world with a purpose, without either one of them.

First, human-caused suffering is necessary for human freedom. If we were prevented from making bad choices, there would be no such thing as good choices and no such thing as choice at all. Love isn't love if it is compulsory. Kindness isn't kindness. Without the option of evil, the world would be drained of everything noble and good and replaced with mere machines instead of humans beings with a soul. God is hidden so we can have a choice. If we know nothing else about the nature of reality, it is it is constructed so that we must make choices, for better or worse.

An all powerful God could have created a "consequence-free" world if he chose to. In such a world, we are free to do anything with equally positive results, but what would be the purpose of such a world? If every action has the same positive result, no action matters. There is no learning or growth in such a world. We wouldn't even have to learn to walk or talk because even if we didn't move or speak, our needs would be taken care of. A world without consequences is a world without motivation and incentives.

This is why our human ability to make problems for ourselves and each other isn't enough to create a meaningful world. In a world where actions have consequences, the majority of people will always try to do what is right and they can take the steps to control the minority who want to cause evil. However, creating and maintaining well-ordered society is nothing but another form of communal selfishness.

This is where suffering from nature: disease, starvation, floods, earthquakes, and so on comes in. These natural obstacles create our need to learn about the world and how nature itself works so that we can learn to control it and, in doing so, learn about the nature of reality. We will never conquer death so we have a constant motivation to keep learning about nature. But the needs created by natural suffering isn't only intellectual. It is emotional. It is our natural suffering that makes us cling to each other as individuals. This process starts when we are born as helpless childen. As children, we learn to depend on others. As we mature, we learn to support each other. The world is a unknown, scarry place. It drives us to come together. This connection by our mutually dependent relationships is very close to the purpose of life. Our need for each other is what makes like meaningful. That need doesn't exist if nature is harmless and life eternal.

Our shared pain is the origin of our mutual salvation through love of one another.